We all consider Roger Federer to be a guy who doesn’t show his emotions a lot of times, but Pete Sampras has a different outlook. The American believes that the Swiss Maestro is a real prankster when he isn’t playing a match and loves to have fun like everyone else does.
“He’s obviously very serious on the court. You walk
into a press conference, and you still have your game face on. But once
the cameras are off, Roger is very light-hearted. He loves practical
jokes, and he loves laughing. He’s just a normal guy. When you’re
playing and competing, you’ve got your game face on; it’s only when you
hop in the car and head back to the hotel that you’re done with your
day.
I’ve always found him very easy to be around, and all-round good
guy. We were travelling in Asia in 2007 on an exhibition tour and I
thought to myself, ‘this guy is like he’s in high school’. I’m slightly
embarrassed to be telling you this but he would come up and blow in your
ear or scream in your ear. He did it to his trainer a few times, and I
thought they looked like a couple of kids from high school. That’s sort
of a silly story, but it tells you about his light-hearted attitude. He
loves talking and laughing. He’s just a down-to-earth guy.” Sampras
said.
He further continued, “I first became friends with Roger during that tour. I didn’t know Roger that well before then. On the first day, we were both shy, and we weren’t really sure how to act around each other, but once we got past that, it was great, and we realised that our personalities are similar. Roger is a bit of a prankster - that’s a side to people that people don’t tend to see. With modern technology, it’s easy to stay in touch with Roger. We email and text and call. It’s become a good friendship, and I’m sure we’ll stay in touch after Roger stops playing.”
Date: 27th November 2013, Source: Tennis Earth
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